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Snow – the best in 30 years?

The 2017/2018 ski season started with a bang, with snow covering most major ski resorts and giving many avid skiers the white Christmas we often hope for.

The 2017/2018 ski season, undoubtedly, started with a bang, with snow covering most of the major ski resorts by Christmas and giving many avid skiers the white Christmas we often hope for.

Of course, when keen skiers across the globe found out about this epic snowfall, ski holidays for January 2018 suddenly became even more popular.

Let’s face it, most years, often we’re left waiting eagerly for the snow to hit hard. However, this year, it arrived, exactly when we wanted it.

While this was a fabulous Christmas gift for many, the extreme amount of snow has put considerable pressure on various ski resorts.

Unfortunately, in some resorts, storm Eleanor has piled on just a bit too much snow to ensure adequate safety, so skiers aren’t having as much opportunity for 9-5 skiing as they’d hoped. Instead, they’ve faced avalanche threats, closed roads and daily ski lift closures.

So, this year’s snowfall may have been heavy, but has the snow really been the best in 30 years?

Here at Snowfinders, we have decided to take a look into the level of snowfall compared to previous years and the quality of skiing the 2017/2018 ski season has to offer, in comparison to previously.

Tignes

Starting with Tignes as an example, unfortunately for this resort and its visitors, it has been slightly snowed under this year, as a result of the storm, which resulted in lift closures and holidaymakers unable to ski, or in fact, travel far at all due to treacherous weather conditions.

In December (2017), snowfall was reaching record levels, around 22 inches to 24 inches. And, as a result, after the excess snow from Storm Eleanor, the resort was temporarily closed.

Once the storm had passed though, the resort was re-opened and holiday makers could enjoy fabulous skiing on fresh, powdered slopes.

Despite always being a snow-sure resort, this winter Tignes has surpassed all expectation with snow levels reaching up to 315m, and is definitely a resort to watch. The last time we saw such high levels of snowfall in Tignes was in 2014 when the snow levels reached 310cm.

As long as we don’t see too many more major storms, we’re thinking that ski holidays in Tignes this year will be snow-sure and offer the best when it comes to ski opportunity…

The Alps

It has been a similar story in The Alps so far this ski season with many holiday makers facing avalanche safety precautions and extreme weather conditions.

There has been another storm over the last few days, closing ski resorts and access roads.

However, of course, there is always calm at the eye of the storm and, as soon as slopes are safe, ski areas are being opened up and skiers are enjoying this epic snow.

So, it’s not all doom and gloom! This year’s snowfall has brought fantastic skiing opportunities across many popular resorts.

Obergurgl

Skiing in Obergurgl is on-form this year! The resort has just broken the snow depth of 300cm which is unusual (and exciting!) for early January! Snow levels have doubled this years in comparison to recent years. Bring it on!

Val Thorens

We took the photos below last week in Val Thorens, and as you can see, the snow came thick and fast! Here’s the ‘before and after’ the snowstorm pictures:

The snow conditions in Val Thorens are pretty-much perfect, all of the trails and ski lifts are open, and the snow level is approximate 200cm at the base and 215cm at the summit.

USA

There was excitement last week as snow hit California, however, what has the snowfall been looking like across the USA this season so far?

Similarly to European resorts, the USA has seen record-breaking snow levels within various resorts.

The highest recorded snow levels of the snow season are between 213cm and 338cm.

Therefore, this year has certainly been snowy across the globe.

Great news for skiers!

As long as precautions are taken and unnecessary risk is ironed out, this year’s ski season is set to be a good one! And may indeed top previous years.